You've spent decades building this. Make sure it goes where you want.

If your documents are more than five years old, or if you've had major life changes — retirement, moving states, death of a spouse, change in family relationships — it's time to review. At minimum, confirm your named trustees, agents, and beneficiaries are still the right people and still available.

They pass directly to whoever you named as beneficiary — not through your trust or will. If you named your spouse, they can roll it into their own IRA. Non-spouse beneficiaries generally must empty inherited accounts within 10 years under current rules.

It depends on your goals and their situation. Lifetime gifts use your gift/estate tax exemption and don't get a stepped-up basis. Inherited assets do get the step-up, which can save your heirs capital gains taxes. If your children have creditor or divorce exposure, keeping assets in trust may offer more protection than an outright gift.

Medicaid has a five-year lookback on asset transfers, so last-minute moves don't work. Options include long-term care insurance, hybrid life/LTC policies, or strategic spend-down planning. If Medicaid eligibility matters to you, talk to an elder law attorney before you need care — not after.

They don't expire, but they can become stale. If you signed them 20 years ago, the people you named may have moved, aged, or died. Some institutions are also reluctant to accept very old documents. Resigning every five to ten years keeps them current and reduces friction when you actually need them.